Econ 2174
Homework 2
Due: September 30
Problem 1
Prove that if binary relation R is complete, then it must also be reflexive.
Problem 2
Let S be the set of all HKUST students, and let R be the “born in the same
month” binary relation, i.e. xRy if and only if x was born in the same month
as y. Is R an equivalence relation? Explain.
Problem 3
We can view ⊂ as a binary relation between sets, because given any two sets
A, B, either A ⊂ B or A 6⊂ B. Let S be an arbitrary nonempty set and P(S) its
power set. Is ⊂ a partial order on P(S)? Is it also a total order? Explain.
Problem 4. (Challenging)
Suppose R is a total order on S where |S| is finite. Prove that there exists a
mapping f : S → R such that f (x) ≥ f (y) if and only if xRy.
Problem 5
Prove that the sequence (xi ) where xi = 1/i, i = 1, 2, ... is convergent, and find
the limit of this sequence.
1
Problem 6
Prove that the sequence (xi ) where xi = i, i = 1, 2, ... is not convergent.
Problem 7. (Challenging)
Suppose (xi ) and (y i ) are two sequences of real numbers, and xi → x and
y i → y for some x, y ∈ R. Prove that the sequence (z i ) where z i = xi y i is
convergent, and it converges to xy.
Problem 8.
Let x be a point in Rn . Is the set {x} open? Explain.
Problem 9.
Consider the set (a, b) × (c, d) in R2 , where
(a, b) × (c, d) := {(x1 , x2 ) ∈ R2 : a < x1 < b, c < x2 < d}.
Prove that (a, b) × (c, d) is open.